Fund of Information

A Manager Shortage?

A DECADE AGO, THERE WERE about 1,640 hedge funds -- and their assets totaled $99 billion. By January of this year, following a decade of explosive growth, the number of funds approached 6,400, with $725 billion under management, according to the Hennessee Group, a New York adviser to hedge-fund investors.

For many years, these investments, which seek positive returns in bad markets and good...